Schools reacting well to staph issues

The numbers are frightening. And hitting too close to home -- in our children's schools.

But it's heartening to see that school and health officials -- along with parents -- aren't panicking. They're dealing with the issues at hand and communicating properly.

Of course, we're referring to the MRSA -- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- a strain of bacteria that that can be found in the nasal passages, skin or bodily secretions.

According to an Associated Press story published earlier this month, more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from this drug-resistant staph "superbug." And deaths tied to these infections may exceed those caused by AIDS in America, one public health expert said, referring to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In the Chicago suburban area, multiple schools have reported outbreaks this month of MRSA. A parochial school in Aurora was closed late last week and new cases were reported at schools in Naperville, Rolling Meadows, Gurnee, Huntley, Streamwood, Schiller Park, Bellwood, Woodstock and Joliet Township. That's a wide swath of schools all reporting the same thing.

What's going on? And what can be done about it?

The good news is that these schools have been doing the right things. At Holy Angels Catholic School in Aurora, staff member and parents spent a day last week cleaning lockers and anything the students may have touched. Any clothes or items found in students' lockers were to be sent home for parents to wash. Similar scrubbings have taken place at schools all over the suburbs as cases have been reported.

"We are making sure and doing what we have to do for the students' safety," said Holy Angels Principal Norb Razanski.

The second piece of good news is that preventing staph or MRSA skin infections is relatively easy through good hygiene, covering all cuts and scrapes with bandages, avoiding contact with others who have wounds or bandage, and avoiding sharing any personal items, like towels, razors, clothing or uniforms.

"They shouldn't be sharing towels or deodorant, or girls sharing pierced earrings," said Ellen Wolff, supervisor of health services for Naperville Unit District 203. "And washing hands is important."

"The hygiene is the biggest thing," said Glenbrook South High School athletic trainer Brian Robinson. "It's near impossible to get kids to take showers after practice anymore, but that's one of the easiest ways to prevent this."

It's imperative that parents and school officials continue to communicate these easy preventive measures to students. And it's imperative that health officials continue to study the disease and alert the general public as to what to do.

A good start in Illinois is a new law that requires hospitals to establish programs to identify MRSA patients and report cases of infection.